LECTIO DIVINA TOWARDS THE WYD RIO2013

Go, therefore, make disciples of all nations (Mtt 28,19)

Theme 1: The Master who loves you

1 WelcomeHymn 2 Presentation of the theme The beauty of our being here around the Word consists of a single word: love. God loves each of us in a unique, unrepeatable way. Jesus is the face of the Fathers love; He gives himself freely and totally, to the cross. To be a disciple of the Master is to be schooled in His way of loving and to open our eyes to the many acts of love which we both receive and are called to perform. 3 Hymn

4. Invocation to the Holy Spirit for listening to the Word T Lord Jesus, send us your Spirit so that we may be helped to read the Scriptures with the same insight you shared with your disciples on the road to Emmaus. With the light of your Word revealed in the Bible, you helped your disciples discover Gods presence in the disturbing events of your condemnation and death. Thus the cross, which seemed to mark the death of hope, became for them a source of life and resurrection. Create in us a stillness so we can hear your voice in creation and in Scripture, in events and in people, especially in the poor and suffering. May your word guide us so that we too, like the two disciples on the way to Emmaus, may know the power of your resurrection and witness to others that you live now among us, the true source of fraternity, justice and peace. This we ask you, Jesus, Son of Mary, you who revealed the Father to us and sent us your Spirit. Amen. 5 A reading from the Gospel according to John (John 2,1-12) Reader 1 - On the third day there was a wedding in Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Jesus and his disciples were also invited to the wedding. When the wine ran short, the mother of Jesus said to him, "They have no wine." (And) Jesus said to her, "Woman, how does your concern affect me? My hour has not yet come." His mother said to the servers, "Do whatever he tells you." Now there were six stone water jars there for Jewish ceremonial washings, each holding twenty to thirty gallons. Jesus told them, "Fill the jars with water." So they filled them to the brim. Then he told them, "Draw some out now and take it to the headwaiter." * So they took it. And when the headwaiter tasted the water that had become wine, without
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Go, therefore, make disciples of all nations (Mtt 28,19)

LECTIO DIVINA TOWARDS THE WYD RIO2013

knowing where it came from (although the servers who had drawn the water knew), the headwaiter called the bridegroom and said to him, "Everyone serves good wine first, and then when people have drunk freely, an inferior one; but you have kept the good wine until now." Jesus did this as the beginning of his signs in Cana in Galilee and so revealed his glory, and his disciples began to believe in him. After this, he and his mother, (his) brothers, and his disciples went down to Capernaum and stayed there only a few days. Silence (3) 7Short commentary on the text Reader 2 This text is really quite curious . It tells about a wedding at Cana in Galilee, but makes no mention of the usual main characters, the bride and the groom. Only at the end of the account is there reference to a dialogue between the bridegroom and the headwaiter. But why? The Wedding at Cana is not an account of a miracle, but of a sign; therein lies an important distinction. While a miracle is an historical event which alters the course of nature and is typically limited to a particular time and place, the sign itself becomes an event intended to transcend time and space, one which requires the readers intelligibility. Reader 3 This is something like traffic signs: they are recognizable by all who have the ability to decipher their meaning . The sign of Cana speaks of Jesus, and it is He who is symbolized by the Bridegroom. Here, thanks to Mary, Jesus begins his public ministry by revealing something of his divine mystery. Jesus reply to his mother (Woman, how does your concern affect me?) must not be understood as an irreverent one, but as a signal to the reader that the dialogue is recontextualised, no longer a conversation between a mother and her son, but on a higher level, at the distance between Creator and creature. Reader 4 Jesus is the Bridegroom who came to bring the good wine of joy and consolation. From this day forward and to the end of his days Jesus will show He has the heart of a husband, taking his place at the side of the weak and poor. When his hour comes, the most tragic hour of his life (John 19,25-27), from the cross the Bridegroom will show the extent of Gods passionate love for the men and women of every age: an immeasurable, total, free, unlimited and never ending love. And Mary, mother and disciple of her Son here at Cana and beneath the cross, never fails to listen to and closely follow the Master. 8 Silence (2) 9 Hymn

10 Read or listen to the Word again Reader 1 The Gospel according to John (John 2,1-12) 11 Sharing (with questions and intercessory prayers) Form a circle with the people present. Place a pitcher of water and some cups (enough for everyone) in the middle of the circle. The leader explains the symbolism: the pitcher of water represents the jars of Cana; the cups the heart of each person present.
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Go, therefore, make disciples of all nations (Mtt 28,19)

LECTIO DIVINA TOWARDS THE WYD RIO2013

Each one receives an empty cup. The idea is to fill the cup with water represents the jars of Cana; the cups the heart of each person present. Some questions for us 1. Jesus actions are characterized by love. Do I, like Jesus, give love the priority in all of my actions and choices? 2. Is my Christian community, like Jesus, close to people? What is my part in making this witness grow? 2 Psalm 8 O LORD, our Lord, how awesome is your name through all the earth! You have set your majesty above the heavens! Out of the mouths of babes and infants you have drawn a defense against your foes, to silence enemy and avenger. When I see your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and stars that you set in place. What are humans that you are mindful of them, mere mortals that you care for them? Yet you have made them little less than a god, crowned them with glory and honor. You have given them rule over the works of your hands, put all things at their feet: All sheep and oxen, even the beasts of the field, The birds of the air, the fish of the sea, and whatever swims the paths of the seas. O LORD, our Lord, how awesome is your name through all the earth! 13 Mandate (personal commitment to practice until the next meeting) Mend clothes that are not used or buy new clothes in order to make an act of charity and possibly even have them ready for the next meeting, in accordance with the procedures agreed upon by the group. The important thing is that each one offer a concrete gesture of love towards the needy. (You can volunteer with an organization, as a whole group, or serve in some way that you have direct contact with people in need.) 14- Final hymn and sign of peace.

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